Dec. 21—A Santa Fe middle school teacher is one of two men arrested this week on charges of seeking sexually explicit materials depicting children following an online operation conducted by undercover city police officers.

Pablo Angeles-Guaderrama, 34, was booked in the Santa Fe County jail Thursday morning on two counts of criminal solicitation to commit sexual exploitation, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.

Angeles-Guaderrama, a math teacher at Ortiz Middle School, was placed on unpaid leave Thursday, Santa Fe Public Schools spokesman Cody Dynarski said.

Orlando Perea, 22, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of criminal solicitation to commit sexual exploitation, a criminal complaint states.

The cases were investigated independently by undercover Santa Fe police investigators, according to a news release the department issued Thursday announcing the arrests.

Police say the men unwittingly interacted with investigators on “a social media website,” but did not specify which one.

Each man separately contacted undercover investigators posing as people peddling “child sexual abuse material” on the unnamed website and solicited material involving a child under 10, the news release says.

Although most court documents in the criminal case against Angeles-Guaderrama remain sealed under a court order, a statement of probable cause investigators filed in court against Perea provides some details about the department’s sting operation that led to charges against both men.

A Santa Fe police detective posed as a father to a 6-year-old boy in an account on the website, according to the statement, and carried on conversations with Perea between Dec. 13 and Dec. 17 on both the website and a separate messaging app. The statement doesn’t disclose the names of the platforms.

Police allege Perea solicited child sexual abuse material — a term that usually refers to sexually explicit images or videos of children — as well as sex acts with the fictitious child.

A search of online New Mexico court records indicates neither suspect previously has faced any criminal charges in the state.

However, the court order filed Wednesday sealing documents in the case against Angeles-Guaderrama — including a criminal complaint and an arrest warrant affidavit — states the action was taken due to the suspect’s “violent history and gang affiliation,” which the order says poses a threat to a victim in the case.

A public safety assessment of Angeles-Guaderramo contradicts the order, stating he has no criminal history, violent or otherwise.

Dynarski, the school district spokesman, said the district conducted a background check on Angeles-Guaderrama before he was hired, as it does for all employees.

Dynarski declined to comment further on the allegations against Angeles-Guaderrama or his arrest.

Santa Fe Police Capt. Aaron Ortiz said the case was sealed to prevent public access to the documents while the department has multiple open investigations.

Ortiz declined to provide the name of the social media website used in the operation. He cited the potential for ongoing investigations.